


Assets

by Rochelle_Templer



Series: Inktober For Writers 2017 [9]
Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Gen, Laguna tries to be a president, and a father
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 13:07:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12321678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rochelle_Templer/pseuds/Rochelle_Templer
Summary: Sometimes, Laguna is faced with the uglier side of politics....





	Assets

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my Inktober for Writers project. The prompt for this fic was "strings".
> 
> This takes place after my other FF VII fics time-line wise.

There were plenty of days when Laguna Loire did not enjoy his job as the president of Esthar. Today was a perfect example of those days.

He had spent most of the day in a meeting with the Budget Committee: an annual event that he dreaded every year. He surprised himself this time by being able to stay awake for the whole thing. Part of that probably could be chalked up to the fact that he had discovered eight new ways to make paper airplanes from pages of the reports given to him before the meeting started.

The rest of it was definitely due to the periodic kicks to the shin that Kiros would give him when no one was looking. The thought of them still managed to make Laguna wince even though the meeting had finished two hours ago.

 _‘Just you wait, Kiros,’_ he grumbled to himself. _‘You’ve got to sleep some time…and I know for a fact that Mara is staying with friends this weekend….’_

Laguna smirked as he thought up a prank involving syrup and confetti and was working out the details of his plan when he was interrupted by a knock at his door.

“Mr. President? I have the quarterly intelligence reports.”

Laguna sighed and slumped down again. He didn’t have to ask to know that it was Tristian Bloc, the chief secretary of their intelligence agency. After the day he had already had, Laguna wasn’t in the mood to deal with him, but then again, he also figured that it was better to get as many unpleasant things as possible over with today.

“Ah, come on in,” Laguna called out, leaning back in his chair. As soon as he had said it, a lean, weasel-faced man who looked to be in his mid-fifties walked into the room, a thick file folder in his hands.

“I believe you find everything in order, Mr. President,” Bloc said, placing the file at the center of Laguna’s desk.

“Oh I’m sure I will,” Laguna nodded, sitting up so he could glance through its contents. “But tell me again why we’re still spying on our neighbors. I thought we were supposed to be getting along now.”

“Treaties can be broken at any time, Mr. President,” Bloc said blandly. “We should be prepared for that eventuality.”

“Yeah, that’s a pretty cynical outlook,” Laguna huffed. “Why even bother with treaties if no one thinks that the other side is going to follow through with their terms?”

“There is something else I believe we need to discuss,” Bloc said, ignoring Laguna’s comment. “About the future of our intelligence program.”

It was difficult, but Laguna managed to not roll his eyes. “Oh sure. Have a seat.”

Bloc looked down at the chair next to him as if Laguna had asked a trick question. After a moment’s deliberation, he sat down on the edge of it.

“Mr. President, it’s true that Esthar is currently at peace with its neighbors, but that doesn’t eliminate our need for vigilance. It simply means that we must reconsider our tactics for acquiring needed information.”

“I getcha,” Laguna nodded. “So what did you have in mind?”

“I believe we should take advantage of the new connections we have made in order to monitor the other governments we deal with now. Specifically, the connections you have made.”

“That I’ve made?” Laguna echoed. “What do you mean?”

“SeeD,” Bloc said. “Commander Leonhart runs Balamb Garden. And he and his people are very capable.”

“Yeah, they are, aren’t they?” Laguna grinned. “Squall’s doing so great. I’m sure he’s going to be a Headmaster in no time at all. But you know, SeeD is not exactly cheap to hire. Sure, it’s not as if we’re hurting for money, but I don’t think I can justify throwing away that kind of money just so we can spy on our new friends. Besides, SeeD does lots of work for other governments and private clients too. There’s no way we could keep them around all the time.”

“And we wouldn’t need to,” Bloc said. “In fact, it would work out better if we didn’t. By taking jobs for other governments and important private citizens, SeeD could gather all sorts of useful information about the politics and dealings that are going on in secret.”

“Except, SeeD doesn’t spill the jelly beans on their clients,” Laguna said, frowning. “There’s no way that Squall would allow something like that.”

“But he is your son,” Bloc replied. “Surely, he must have some measure of loyalty towards you. And he must understand how his cooperation could benefit you. I’m certain that if we explain to him how the information he gives us could give you the leverage you need to stay in power….”

Laguna shot up from his chair and slammed a hand onto his desk. “Mr. Bloc, I’m only going to say this once, so listen up: my son is not a ‘connection’ for you to take advantage of. You think we need some info and don’t plan on hurting anyone to get it? Fine, be my guest. But you’re not going to use my relationship with my son to get it. Is that understood?”

Bloc stood up and nodded his head slightly before leaving the office without another word. Once he was gone, Laguna picked up the hand he had smashed against the table and shook it in an attempt to get it to stop tingling.

_‘I gotta have a talk with Kiros about that guy. There has to be some way I could transfer him out of the intelligence sector. Maybe the budget department….?’_

A second later, the computer monitor on his desk pinged, letting him know that he got a message. Laguna plopped back down onto his chair and brought it up to read.

_‘I’ve got some time off after a job. Want to go sailing this weekend?’_

_S.L._

Laguna grinned and started to type up a response. Going on a sailing trip with his son sounded like an ideal way to spend his weekend. As he typed, he reminded himself how lucky he was and how he had made a promise to do his absolute best to make the most of his second chance to be a father.


End file.
